Ruse Bulgaria - Walked 13 km 8 miles
23 October, 2023
I for one am suffering with acute HypoCaffeinia. That's a condition caused by insufficient intake of caffeinated drinks as compared to the amount of energy expended over long periods of time. It can cause drowsiness, loss of appetite, compromised physical activity potential and grumpiness.... Fortunately, this situation can very easily be remedied by spending our Rest Day going from one café to another all morning! Which indeed we did!!
Today's objective is to sightsee, drink coffee, speak to our Bournemouth Cycling gang on their Monday ride, find accommodation between here and Constanța, French Call for Paul&Blog for Doug, drink more coffee, book flights home whilst drinking yet more coffee, with the odd meal or pastries thrown in for good measure! An army cycles on it's stomach!!
This is a small, but very nice city, and well worth a stop if you're passing through. Having both slept well we are no hurry to see all that's here but we visited the main square, river front and the cafe quarter all before noon! After a light bite of lunch we strolled on around the various streets with many attractive Baroque style buildings with some very interesting detail accouterments indeed!!
We visited the War Hero's Memorial in the city today. A wonderful tribute to not only the heroes of their War of Independence, but also those that fought for the creation of their own Orthodox Church and finally the eviction of the Ottomans from their territory. Like the Ottomans, and Habsburgs of the past sadly there is nothing new in the world when one considers the plight currently being endured by the Ukrainians.
Something quite heartening that we've noticed is that a number of hotels which are helping Ukrainian refugees by offering reduced tarrifs to them. I for one, will send 'Vlad The Invader' a message via hand signalling to him once we're on the beach...
We also found a Russian War Grave site for the men who fell locally in World War II. 'We' really do seem incapable learning from history. Like many before him Vlad Putin is a 'middle aged' man in a hurry to ensure his place in history one way or another, he seems to not care which, but I think we all know which it will be, but at what terrible cost?
Since leaving Serbia we have moved back into some lovely warm weather of more than 25°C by day, and in the region of 15 by night. Rain looks very unlikely from here on out, and with confidence building we are beginning to jettison worn out and unnecessary clothing items to lighten our loads of unnecessary 'stuff' for the final push to Constanța. I have however, retained my swim suit for that final great act of swimming in The Black Sea, which is fast becoming a family favourite activity for 2023 as I follow in the footsteps of daughters Fiona and Celina in July, and Sister Kathy in September. I am not sure, but I don't think Paul's family have quite embraced this tradition this year.
I promised a word or two about Romanian stray dogs. Amazingly, they seem to exist in great numbers north of the Danube, but not south, and they have as many personalities as we people have. To be fair on them, most are gentle timid homeless creatures who mean no harm, and shy away from contact if approached. Many are very noisy, and where they have affiliated themselves to one human pack or another become at their most ferocious after you've cycled by them. At that stage, if their 'pack leader' were to look up they'd see this diligent job being doneof seeing the intruders, out of town!! Very few come across as truly aggressive, but indeed they do exist!! Generally, these aggressive guys live in small packs near one of the many fly tipped rubbish locations, and take chase at your passing even at relatively safe distances, with teeth on display as they keep pace with you up to 20-25km/hr!! These guys are alarming, but we've never had any close shaves!
The cats are all harmless from our experience, and exist in great abundance on both sides of the border. Figure that one out and let me know. Sadly, both cats and dogs fall prey to the same road users that we've been working hard to stay out of contact with. I have performed one burial, and moved no end of small furry creatures from the road surface into more dignified surroundings for their final resting places. Paul is perplexed abit, but me and my womenfolk would be happy to know I'm doing my best for both the living and deceased creatures... live ones get scraps, and the odd full meal of leftovers, whilst the unlucky ones get relocated from further injury. Bless them!
While I was fighting with the WizzAir website, and it's unholy alliance with Santander Mastercard, Paul has been producing a Master Class Aubergine Parmigiana and a side of stuffed peppers!! It's going into the oven shortly and we'll then pop out for a Craft Beer!! All that lot plus breakfast ought to sustain us for 120km to Silistra tomorrow.
Third time lucky and flights booked and finally paid for via my RBS App and Visa.... sometimes technology is so brilliant, and other times is is sent to try our depth of resilience. But, hey ho, flights now booked for Sunday 29 October, 2023.... 3 days ahead of our plan. It may still be a result!!
Stay tuned for Chapters 54 to 59!
A bientot,
Doug&Paul
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